50AMP Shore Power Cord Repair/Replacement

[iamflagman]

It seems that there are different configurations of power cords that have eventually ended up in our 'Birds, some came from the factory and some were made up out of necessity by the previous owners and unfortunately especially for the NEWBY it can be very confusing, if there is no documentation that came with their new to them 'Bird. what I will try to do here is explain as best as I can the differences in the shore power cords and related equipment that came with my 'Bird and that I have ended up purchasing or making for my 'Bird.

My 'Bird came with a 50 amp power cord and it has "6/3 8/1 FOR MOBILE HOME USE" molded into the rubber covering, with the female twist lock end that attachés to the 'Bird and the 4 prong male plug that attachés to the 50 amp shore power receptacle, it also came with two 30 amp cords, with female twist lock ends that attach to the 'Bird and 3 prong male plugs that attach to the shore power 30 amp receptacle.



http://upload.pbase.com/iamflagman/image/91991466

I carry a 30 amp extension cord that I purchased at Wal Mart and I also built a 50 amp extension cord to carry with me.

http://www.pbase.com/image/97885543

Originally the two 30 amp cords were used to power the two separate sides of the breaker panel, or some people would connect the two 30 amp cords to separate 30 amp receptacles located close to each other, but I have removed the wiring for the two 30 amp receptacles on my 'Bird and now I use what is sometimes referred to as a DOG BONE adapter to attach my 50 amp electrical cord to a 30 amp campground receptacle.

http://www.tweetys.com/ProductImages...58404_silo.jpg

It splits the 30 amp so that it will power both sides of your breaker panel and they are available at most RV supply store and I have even seen them in the rv section of the automotive department at Wal mart, or you can purchase them online from places like http://www.tweetys.com/index.asp?Pag...OD&ProdID=7648

You will have to keep in mind that you will have to be more careful about power management when you use this, as it will not give you enough power on each leg to use everything, just look on your breaker panel and see what is locate on each side, to give you an idea of what you can use. I normally use my center roof airconditioner, the water heater and the battery charger and it seems to handle that load with no problem, however I have modified my 'Bird to operate the TV's, Satellite dish and receiver, two 14 inch fans and the microwave off of the inverter which is powered by eight Trojan golf cart batteries, the fans help to circulate the cold air.

I have heard of some 'Bird owners that have a longer extension cord made up similar to the adapter above, some with 50 amp style cords, or 30 amp style cords used with the appropriate ends attached.

Here is a source for the 50 amp female connector that goes into the 'Birds receptacle.
http://www.electric-supplier.com/pro...64_w324123.php
CONNECTOR: 600 VAC/250 VDC; 50 AMPERE; 3 POLE; 4 WIRE; GROUNDING; METAL SHELL; CORD SIZE 0.68 TO 1.125 INCH; APPROVAL UL, CSA; HART-LOCK[R] BRAND


RV Electric Service, Connections and Basic Information
Installing a 30 or 50-amp RV Electric Service Note: If you would like to install a SERVICE for your RV make sure you understand basic wiring. It is not that hard as long as you follow the rules.

Check out these posts by our forum members cheater precautions?? they can be found under Electrical

[iamflagman]

The original female plug as seen at the right, is a Arrow Hart, Hart Lock, 50A 240V DC, 50A 600V AC, EQ Grounded. Arrow Hart is now manufactured by Leviton the replacement plug is the (Arrow Hart: AN) Leviton 7764-C

Make note of the recessed grounding area on the original plug on the right and the Leviton on the left.

They are both TWIST LOCK style plugs that have to be inserted straight in and then twisted clockwise to lock or hold the plug in place.

http://upload.pbase.com/iamflagman/image/108202963

The female plug end is available at; http://www.galesburgelectric.com/Leviton-7764C-50-Amp-250-Volt-DC-600-Volt-AC-3-Pole-Locking-C-p-2510.html

The 50 amp shore power cord can be found at commercial electrical supply stores. You will need a 50 AMP, 4 wire, AWG: 6/3 + 8/1 cord they are sold as a Mobile Home / RV power Cord. They also can be found at RV supply stores and at some Wal Marts in the Auto/RV supply department as 50AMP RV extension cords, you will need to cut the female end of the cable off and then replace it with the replacement Leviton 7764-C end.

UPDATE; !!!SEE FURTHER IMPORTANT FOLLOWUP INFORMATION ABOUT THE FEMALE PLUG MENTIONED BELOW, BY READING POST #3 IN THIS THREAD!!!

One of the forum members came up with this link and it is very similar to the original style and construction;

Hubbell 50 Ampere 125/250 Volt for Female Plug HBL63CM64

Nickel plated brass connector body has a heat resistant thermoset interior and combination metal and rubber cord grip, which provides superior strain relief capability.

It can be purchased at;
http://www.rivermarinesupply.com/xca...male_Plug.html

[iamflagman]

Originally Posted by Tim

http://www.rivermarinesupply.com/xca...male_Plug.html

Tim,

Since the plastic portion is cracked in my female plug on the 50amp cord for a 1982 FC35RB, I decided to order one of the plugs that the above link takes you to, it appears to be the same or similar plug, but upon arrival, I found out that the new one doesn't fit my application as seen below;

http://www.pbase.com/iamflagman/image/108420362

Do you know of a different model metal housing female plug that will work on my 'Bird? Right now all I have is an expensive paper weight.

[iamflagman]

Being frustrated that after I purchased a Hubbell HBL63CM64 female plug for my 50 amp shore power cord and it wouldn't even fit into the receptacle on my 'Bird, I made a call to the tech department and then on their request, I sent a couple inquiring emails, the first one with links to this thread and photos directly to Hubbell themselves and here is my last email to them and their reply.


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From: IAMFLAGMAN@aol.com [mailto:IAMFLAGMAN@aol.com]
Sent: Mon 2/9/2009 2:48 PM
To: Milford, Tech Services
Subject: Re: jh/50 Amp 125/240 Volt shore power female plug.



I have personally tried every way I can think of to get this plug to work, but the HBL63CM64 plug WILL NOT EVEN GO FAR ENOUGH INTO THE MALE SOCKET ON THE BUS!!!!!!!

There are two nipples, one can be seen at the two o'clock position on the HBL63CM64 the other one is on the opposite side and either these nipples prevent the plug from going into the male socket any more than about 1/2 inch or, the grounding lug in the male socket will not align with the indented grounding area preventing it from going in.

On the Wanderlodge Owners Group Forum, we have some owners of the model Blue Birds that use this type of a plug and a lot of them either now need to be replaced or may need it in the near future.

The Leviton model 7764C will work perfectly, but some owners prefer a metal plug that will work, do you have one that will cross reference with the Leviton? The HBL63CM64 will not work for us, do you have another one that will?

www.WanderlodgeOwnersGroup.com
John Finn
Forum Moderator

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Subject: RE: jh/50 Amp 125/240 Volt shore power female plug.
Date: 2/10/2009 12:20:06 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
From: techserv@hubbell.com
To: IAMFLAGMAN@aol.com

Good morning, Sorry Hubbell would not have a mating connector for this device.

Have a good day

Technical Service Department
Hubbell Wiring Device - Kellems
Phone (203) 882-4820
Fax (203) 882-4852
Email techserv@hubbell.com
Internet Site www.hubbell-wiring.com

[Bill Pape]

Good morning, Sorry Hubbell would not have a mating connector for this device.

Have a good day

Technical Service Department
Hubbell Wiring Device - Kellems

John this response hits the old hot Hot Button, I do not understand why Companies continue to turn customers off and shut the door on a customer inquiry, with out offering an explanation, another option of at least a lame excuse for not helping. There are some very supportive vendors such as Fantastic Fan, HWH, CCW, Zip DEE, Progressive Dynamics, etc. They will offer assistance or make a customer feel good about the interchange of information. There is a particular character of a company that respects an input and makes a customer feel good when their response is "No we can not help " ... but still ending on a positive note.
In addition to Hubble, K&N Filters and Dometic have recently refused to offer any help, support or assistance with their produces with no further explanation , or hope of ever responding again.
I thought times were tough and companies needed customers that want to spend $$$.

[patticake]

On situations like this, try going over the tech support head. Ask to speak to a
supervisor or vp/president of the company. Like bill said, these are hard times and
mangement sometimes needs a wakeup call!!

[QUOTE=Bill Pape;14378]

Good morning, Sorry Hubbell would not have a mating connector for this device.
Have a good day

Technical Service Department
Hubbell Wiring Device - Kellems

Maybe they work for Holland and you do not have an account with them to be billed the $50/15 min. I do have one of the original 30 amp cables with the metal end, had 2 but made one a 30 amp extension. Right after I got the bird I went to camping world. Being a newbe I ended up buying 2 30amp to 50 female cords I think they are 25'. I also bought my new 50/50 cord. The orginal cord is up for grabs just shipping